What You've Left Behind
by EverSparrow
Summary: "At times, she felt like she could handle it. The grief, or whatever this was. But then sometimes, she felt like the whole world was crashing down around her. She'd known him, yes, but whatever had been between them, if you could yet call it love, had barely gotten started. If they'd only had more time."


**A/N: Just a short litte OneShot exploring Cho's grief after losing Cedric. Enjoy!**

_I think you're beautiful. _

Cho's eyes flew open, the darkness of the dormitory closing in on her from all sides. She gasped, sitting up quickly and clawing at the blankets that had tangled themselves around her limbs. She forced herself to breathe, digging her fingernails into the mattress beneath her as her eyes searched for something, anything in the darkness around her.

_It's not real. He's not here. _

"Cho?" a tentative voice asked, and Cho pulled her knees to her chest, hearing his voice echoing in her head, reverberating in her bones. She rocked back and forth, shutting her eyes tightly. From the back of her mind, she heard shuffling and low whispers, and she soon felt a warm hand on her back, rubbing her gently.

"It's okay, Cho," a voice said soothingly, but Cho didn't open her eyes. If she did, she knew she'd see him again, standing in the shadows. Sometimes he would just stand there, giving her a sad smile. Other times he'd be on the ground, dead, the lights gone from his eyes.

"Should we get a teacher?" asked a small voice, and Cho felt the person holding her shake their head against her hair.

"She'll be alright, Sophie. Just go back to bed. I can take care of her," said the first voice. Cho knew that voice. She gripped it like a tether with her mind, focusing on the hand on her back.

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and the person rubbing her back slid her arm around her shoulders. It was Marietta, her grey eyes shining with tears as she looked at Cho. Just seeing her friend's face snapped Cho back to reality, and almost instantly, her own tears began to slide down her face.

"I- I'm sorry," Cho said, her voice racked with sobs, and Marietta shushed her gently, climbing into bed next to her and pulling Cho closer.

"Shh, Cho, it's alright, it's alright. You're alright, everything's fine," Marietta said softly, and Cho took a deep breath, her sobs turning into quiet tears, sliding down her face in the tracks that previously shed tears had made on her skin.

But it wasn't alright. And neither was she. She was broken, fractured into a million little pieces. It was like there was a part of her missing, shattered the day Cedric died and took her heart with him.

So she let Marietta whisper encouragement, let her stroke her hair and tell her everything would be alright, and she closed her eyes and breathed slowly until her friend left her. And she lay there in the suffocating darkness, until sleep claimed her, filling her dreams with a boy with a smile that could shatter the sun.

* * *

_ "Hi." _

_ Cho looked up from her parchment, Marietta pausing mid-rant about the amount of homework Professor Snape had assigned. There he was, a Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around his neck and a dashing grin on his face. _

_ "Um, hello," she had said tentatively, and Marietta raised her eyebrow at the boy, crossing her arms against her chest. _

_ "And you are?" Marietta asked coldly, and Cho gave her a weary look. Marietta knew who the boy was, no doubt. Who didn't, when he was the Hogwarts champion?_

_ "Cedric," the boy said, not taking his eyes off of Cho. She shifted uncomfortably, and Marietta sighed loudly._

_ "Well? Do you need something?" she snapped, and Cho elbowed her. What? she mouthed to Cho, who shook her head slowly. _

_ "Actually, I was wondering if I could speak to Cho," he said cautiously, and Marietta gave her a withering look. _

_ "Well, go on, then," she said sharply, and Cedric looked at Cho questioningly. Quickly, Cho stood, nearly bumping into the table and knocking over all of her books. _

_ Silently, she followed him out of the Great Hall, ignoring the many pairs of eyes that turned to watch the two of them as they shuffled out of the room. Finally, when they were out in the courtyard, Cedric turned to her, moving so they walked beside each other._

_ "I was wondering," he said slowly, his steps slow and deliberate. Cho watched the golden light of the winter sun catch the tips of his hair and frame his face perfectly. He looked rather like an angel. "If you had a date to the Yule Ball."_

_ He had a nice voice, Cho was thinking. It was rich and warm and sounded sort of like what a river felt like when you slipped your hand into the water, and she wondered if- wait._

_ "The Yule Ball?" she asked tentatively, "I- no. No one." _

_ Brilliant, Cho. You don't sound desperate at all. _

_ "Alright," Cedric said casually. "Then would you like to go with me?" _

_ Cho's eyes widened, and she stared at him. She'd admired Cedric for years, but she'd never thought that he'd ever-_

_ "That's okay," Cedric said, turning away, "I completely understand if you don't want to go, I just thought I'd-"_

_ "No!" Cho said quickly, grabbing his arm. He stared down at her hand and she quickly pulled away, cheeks reddening. "I'd, um, love to go. With you. To the ball." _

_ "Great," Cedric said, his face splitting into a wide grin. "Would you, er, want to go on a walk with me?" _

_ Cho smiled, her heart leaping. Was this real? Did Cedric Diggory, Prince of Hogwarts, really want to go to the Yule Ball with her?_

_ "I'd love to," she said gently, and she slipped her hand into his, the two of them setting off into the winter breeze._

* * *

Cho stared at her plate, listening to her friends make polite conversation as the morning rays slipped through the windows. She interjected every so often with a smile or a soft laugh, a 'yes' or a 'no'. She tried to pull herself into their words, but she couldn't seem to process anything. What was wrong with her?

She hadn't wanted to come back to Hogwarts this year. She wasn't sure if that made her a coward, but everything here reminded her of him. The Hufflepuff colors, the warm sun shining in the courtyard, the candles flickering softly in the Great Hall. It was like he'd left a mark on every place he'd been in the castle, a mark that only she could see.

At times, she felt like she could handle it. The grief, or whatever this was. But then sometimes, she felt like the whole world was crashing down around her. She'd known him, yes, but whatever had been between them, if you could yet call it love, had barely gotten started. If they'd only had more time.

She tried to focus on the life he'd lived, his bright, brilliant smile, his sweet kisses, his cheerful laugh. She could do that in the light of day, surrounded by her friends and the soft, lilting chatter of the castle. But everytime she closed her eyes, she saw him lying on the ground, his eyes wide and unseeing with a last call still frozen on his lips.

He'd always been so bold and full of life, and yet there he was, cold and stiff, gone without even a goodbye. It was like he was a different person entirely, her beautiful Cedric replaced by this empty shell.

When she'd first seen him, she hadn't believed it. She'd clung to Marietta, shaking her head as silent tears slid down her cheeks. She hadn't even noticed them, numb to all feeling.

"That's not my Cedric," she'd repeated over and over again, until she buried her head in her friend's shoulder and cried for what felt like hours.

"Cho, it's time for class," said Marietta quietly, interrupting her thoughts and putting a hand on Cho's shoulder. Slowly, Cho nodded, standing up from the table. The two of them walked through the corridor, and Cho did her best to ignore the hushed whispers and concerned looks that were thrown in her direction.

"Listen, Mari, about last night, I'm really sorry," Cho said softly, and Marietta looped her arm through Cho's, her brow furrowed in concern.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. And I'll always be here for you. You know that, right?" Marietta said, and Cho smiled at her, a real, raw smile that made Marietta smile back.

"Thank you. For everything," Cho said quietly, and Marietta squeezed her arm.

"Anytime," Marietta said, and in that moment Cho knew that her friend would be there for her, every step of the way until the day when Cho was finally able to say his name without crumbling inside. The ache would always be there, but maybe, someday, she wouldn't feel it as much as she did now.

* * *

_Cedric twirled Cho around the dance floor, the two of them moving in perfect harmony. They were like that, sometimes, blurting out the same sentence at once or moving to grab the same thing at the same time and bumping into each other. _

_ "Oh, Fleur looks just beautiful, doesn't she," Cho had breathed, giving the Beauxbatons girl a little wave as they spun past her on the floor. She had only spoken to the girl a couple of times, but she found her fascinating, and the most elegant person she had ever met. _

_ "I think you're beautiful," Cedric said quietly, and Cho looked up at him, smiling brightly. _

_ "Really?" she asked, and Cedric laughed, twirling her to the beat of the music. _

_ "The most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said dashingly, and she grinned, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, not caring if the whole school saw or not. _

_ "And I think you're the sweetest boy I've ever met," she giggled, and he opened his mouth in mock outrage._

_ "Not the handsomest?" he asked, and she laughed, lacing her arms around his neck._

_ "And the handsomest," she said, and he smiled at her, eyes gleaming from the light of the Great Hall. _

_ And as they danced, Cho felt the rest of the world slip away, until it was just the two of them, swaying to their own music. _

_ "I think I'm in love with you, Cho Chang," Cedric said quietly, and Cho felt her heart leap inside her chest. She stared into his eyes, those sparkling, wonderful eyes, and for once, she didn't feel afraid._

_ "I love you too, Cedric Diggory," she whispered, and the two of them stared at each other, happy in their moment, a fragment of time stolen away for each to keep, no matter how far apart they ever grew. _


End file.
